Israeli Premier Yitzhak Shamir said Sunday he believes that a settlement can be found that will “satisfy” both Israel and the Palestinians.
“It is destiny” that Jews and Arabs will “live together” in peace, Shamir said in an interview on CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation.”
“They will not remove us and we will not expel them,” he stressed. “And therefore we have to find a formula that will enable us to live together. And we will find it; if not we, then our children.”
Shamir said that Israel is “committed to negotiate about the status” of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but it would be unwise to state its positions before talks start.
The Israeli leader repeated his opposition to an international conference. He said that Secretary of State George Shultz, who had been opposed to such a conference, included it in his Middle East peace proposals as a “surrender” to the Arabs who demand such a conference before negotiations are held.
Shamir said that Israel trusts President Reagan and Shultz. “Both of them are good friends of Israel” and will not lead Israel into a trap, he said. But he added, “I don’t know who will be the president and the secretary.”
Shultz, in an appearance on NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, said that those who oppose the international conference appear to be talking about the type of conference sought by the Soviet Union in the United Nations Security Council, which the United States vetoed.
“We proposed a conference that is not able to impose solutions on the parties, not able to veto any agreements that are made by the parties, but is a vehicle for getting negotiations started,” he said.
Shultz also said he understood why Israel was barring television crews from covering the rioting on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He said that while he favors leaving the areas “open to the press,” the television cameras may result in incitement.
“A person sees a camera, so (he) runs out and throws a rock so that person can get beat on,” he explained.
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